Food Photography as a Tool to Assess Type, Quantity, and Quality of Foods in Parent-Packed Lunches for Preschoolers

Abstract

Objective: Explore using food photography to assess packed lunches in a university-based Early Childhood Center and contextualize these photographs through parent interviews. Methods: An explanatory sequential design was used. Packed lunches were photographed to assess the type and quantity of foods offered and consumed by Child and Adult Food Care Program components (fruit, vegetable, grain, and protein) and quality of foods offered using the Healthy Meal Index. Parent interviews aimed to understand motivations and behaviors related to packing lunch. Results: Data were collected on 401 lunches. Only 16.2% of lunches met all Child and Adult Food Care Program requirements. Most lunches included fruit (84%) and grains (82%), whereas fewer included vegetables (44%). Portion sizes were large, especially for grains (2.7 § 1.5 servings). In interviews (n = 24), parents expressed tension between offering healthful items and foods they knew their child would eat, as well as concern about children going hungry. Conclusions and Implications: Food photography is a feasible methodology to capture parent-packed lunches for preschoolers and may have utility in nutrition education, particularly related to age-appropriate portion sizes.

Development and validation of a photographic food atlas of Middle Eastern Mediterranean diet: Toward improved understanding of traditional healthy and sustainable diets

“…So far, a number of photographic food atlases has been developed in various populations across the globe ( 3 , 12 , 23 – 25 ). Validation of these tools have been assessed by weighing the food items before and after meals ( 4 , 26 , 27 ). Despite useful, this approach is overwhelming for researchers and participants.…”

The effects of school gardens on fruit and vegetable consumption at school: A randomized controlled trial with low-income elementary schools in four U.S. states

“…Given the limited reliability and validity of self-report measures of children’s dietary intake ( Kristal et al, 2005 , Livingstone et al, 2004 , Merson et al, 2017 , Rockett and Colditz, 1997 , Warren et al, 2003 ), the dependent variable, FV consumption at school, was measured by photographing children’s lunch trays before (“pre”) and after (“post”) they ate lunch. Photography has been used in the past to measure children’s diet ( Archundia Herrera and Chan, 2018 , McCloskey et al, 2019 , Elliott et al, 2021 , Winzer et al, 2018 ) and was combined, in this study, with the use of Digital Food Image Analysis (DFIA) software ( Todd et al, 2017 ). Due to the scope of this study (i.e., ∼30,000+ meals assessed from more than 2700 children × 4 waves of data collection × 3 days per wave) and the fast pace of the typical elementary school cafeteria ( Caruso and Rosenthal, 2020 ), photography was deemed the most practical and valid data collection method 1 ; rather than, for example, weighed plate waste.…”

Pengenalan Komposisi Gizi Makanan Tradisional Suku kaili Melalui Media Food Fotograph Kepada Praktisi Kuliner dan Kader Posyandu

“…Sebelumnya penelitian yang dilakukan Lazarte et al, (2012), mencoba melakukan validasi photograph digital sebagai alat bantu dalam 24 hour recall pada kelompok masyarakat pedesaan di Bolivia (Lazarte et al, 2012). Hal ini dilakukan juga oleh Elliott et al, (2021), membuat Food Photograph untuk melihat asupan makan siang terhadap anak usia dini (Elliott et al, 2021). Sedangkan penelitian yang dilakukan oleh Andersen, Byrne, & Wang, (2021) Food Photograph digunakan untuk mengatur berat badan menjadi sehat dan meningkatkan visualisasi makanan hingga menjadi lebih lezat (Andersen, Byrne, & Wang, 2021).…”